Gangs
Kids will be kids; they tend to get into trouble, some more so than others. It would be impossible to say when exactly, in the history of The Land, the kind of trouble they got into started getting more serious, but eventually the concept of street gangs came about. Still, it remained largely a rite of passage for certain kids, something most of them eventually grew out of. That is, until 899, when for some reason street gangs around the world started getting even more serious than ever before, and more organized. Not only within their own villages, but also between villages. Alliances were formed, and at the same time rivalries escalated. The two major inter-village gangs that rose up at that time were LandOrder and InterGang. Other alliances were attempted, but fell apart for various reasons, within a few years if not sooner. The only other inter-village gang that survived past the Coming of the Order was the BiShip gang; all other gangs remain single-village organizations, but are nevertheless larger and more active than they ever were prior to the Coming. While BiShip appears content to operate strictly within two villages, and is therefore not considered a "major" inter-village gang, a third major gang was established in 912, called the Illuminati. Of course, it is because of increased gang activities in 899 that the Land's various police departments began working together, and InterVil was established. This, in itself, was a major component of The Plan, which lends a certain credibility to Protestant claims that The Order had a hand in secretly encouraging the growth of the gangs, though of course the Order denies this. Positions within gangs *Capo: head of an inter-village gang. (Though this is known to be an Earth word, it is also considered to be a title honorary of Capp Primus of LandOrder. It is not fully understood why InterGang also chose to adopt this title for their top boss.) *Don: head of a single-village gang, or of a village's branch of an inter-village gang. (Though this is known to be an Earth word, it is also considered to be a title honorary of Don Chieftain of LandOrder. It is not fully understood why both InterGang and all single-village gangs chose to adopt this title for their bosses.) *Chief: Head of one of the various departments within a village's gang (or gang branch). *First: A title sometimes applied to the department chiefs within an inter-village gang's capital; a largely honorary title, though department chiefs from other branches may defer to a First's authority, whether out of obligation or merely respect. Departments *Adult: See adult license, subclause 1. *Dealer: One who sells drugs, merchandise, etc. *Enforcer: One who engages in fights, whether offensively or defensively. *Sorreter/sorcerer: One who supplies the gang with spell devices or other magical services. *Spy: One who gathers information on any number of matters, including the activities of rival gangs. May also spread disinformation. *Thief: One who steals money or goods, which may be passed on to dealers for resale. *Miscellaneous: People who provided any services not covered within the major categories, e.g., apothecaries. List of gangs (This list is of the major single- and inter-village gangs, but there are smaller, less organized street gangs in pretty much every village on the Land) *The Agency (Jump Village) *Ass-Kickers Unlimited (Tonad) *BiShip (Ship, Shipsister) *Black Profits (First Village) *Brills (Tonad) *Illuminati (capital: Tonad) *InterGang (capital unknown) *LandOrder (capital: Kimrin) *Rapscallions (Kurok) See also *List of jobs Category:Groups